Small Details
by ValkyrieWreiter
Summary: Everything she had done was for a reason. When that reason is no longer there, she will have to find her place in the world. Steve had been defrosted and thrown to a mission to save the world. After the battle of New York he has to understand the century he had been woken into and learn what he wants. Can this two people help each other with their goals?
1. Chapter 1

She looked through the window outside to see the green scenery. That gave her some kind of comfort for the life she was living. She had escaped from her duties for a little while just to get in peace with herself, to remind herself why she was doing this and more important why she couldn't leave. She was lost in her thoughts. Remembering her past, a past when she had been happy, where her reason for fighting for was. She didn't hear the outside alarms in the base going off as she would have done if she was alert. She didn't realize the sound of the shoots, the metallic clangs or the grunts of the fallen men.

"Steve, Natasha here. The main door is open you can come now" said Natasha though her communication device. She was in the field outside the base that was not visible from the window. Her tone was neutral as she hadn't just beaten ten guys to get that door. She went inside and waited for Steve there.

"Coming in" Steve replied while he speeded up his motorbike to get to the enemy base main door.

He discarded the motorbike once he crossed the door and rushed to meet up with Natasha. Both of them were covered of dirt but without any wound or starch. They have crossed the exterior enemy's lines swiftly. They had just to get the information that Director Fury asked of them from the base. This base was just a huge building not really high all of it made of metal. The interior had no decoration either or the rooms they went through looking for the computer with the information. All were surgical clean barren corridors and offices. They followed the first corridor searching all the rooms they found even though it would be pretty stupid for the enemy to put the most confidential information that near of the entrance. But better be safe than sorry. Then the corridor divided in two. Surprisingly until that point no guards had been seen which made both Avengers be in a high level of alert.

"Natasha you take the left corridor I'll take the other. Call if anything happens" commanded Steve using the strict voice he had when he was conduction missions. He turned to run when Natasha grabbed his arm. He stopped and looked at her.

"Be careful Cap. This seems to quiet. I'm sure there is a trap somewhere" she said looking at him straight into his eyes. She had said that with all seriousness but couldn't help but add with a smirk "You have to return home so you can ask the SHIELD's nurse, Martha, out"

Steve had already turned and started running as he exclaimed "I don't have time!"

Natasha turned to retort but he had already disappeared through the corridor. She started to go into hers. Then the show began. Both of them were attacked. It nothing that they couldn't handle.

"I'm sure she would understand that you couldn't be with her like a normal boyfriend" Natasha continued probing Steve.

"But even so. She cannot like me. We have only spoken twice"

"But she is already in love with you. You are Captain America"

"I don't want someone to love me because I'm Captain America"

"What do you want Steve? I don't think you could stand a relationship with a normal civilian who knows nothing about you"

"Well in my time love was thought as… " Steve stopped his rambling when he heard through his communicating device an almost pained gasp coming from Natasha

Natasha had just entered the next room in her corridor half listening to Steve. When she slid the metallic door open, her world stopped for a few seconds. In the room stood a slender woman with a killer figure. Her long black hair was in a ponytail. At hearing the sound of the door opening she turned around.

Natasha felt as she could not breathe as she meet the other woman's eyes. They were identical to her own eyes. It could not be possible. It had to be a sick joke from the enemy. The other woman hadn't moved a centimeter. She hadn't tried to harm Natasha while she was in shock. When Natasha was starting to clear her head the woman bolted out of the room crashing into Natasha and sending her to the ground. She continued running without turning back. Sitting down on the floor was how Steve found Natasha. In the moment he heard her gasp and didn't answer to her name he had quickly undid his path and went through her corridor. He found her sitting on the ground with a shocked expression on her face. He hadn't seen what affected Natasha this way. He only caught a glimpse of black hair. He checked Natasha for any wounds but he couldn't find any.

"Natasha can you hear me? Hello.."

Finally her eyes started to focus and fixed on Steve's blue ones.

"It was her, Steve. It was her" she murmured more to herself than to Steve although she had said his name.

"Who?" asked Steve but Natasha was already on her feet and looking towards the direction the woman had took off. She wanted to catch the black haired woman but knew she had to sacrifice her desires for the mission. She tried to forget what happened and concentrate in her mission.

"C'mon Steve we cannot linger" barked Natasha ignoring his question. Taking about who she thought the woman was would open an old wound she had tried to ignore for a long time.

They continued walking down the corridor and had to fight many men and women. They didn't get any serious wound. As they went deeper into the corridor more guards they found. They finally reached the end of the corridor and hadn't found any room with the information needed or that looked like the central office. They followed up the same way they had come. Steve suddenly stopped. Natasha looked at him curiously as he started to feel up the wall. He had noticed a pattern about how the rooms where distributed in the corridor while they were walking back. But where he was touching the door should have been a door that wasn't there at naked eye. He kept pushing and knocking on the wall until one small plate of metal slid off to reveal a keypad to introduce some kind of code. Natasha quickly started up her devices to discover the code.

Once they introduced the right code the wall descended and a huge office was revealed. All the officers were running like chickens without head. They were saving up the information to get it to another base and deleting so it wouldn't fall on the wrong hands. Not a soul stood still, only the two figures at the end of the room. They stood with their backs turned to the two Avengers. One was a really tall man with black hair and broad shoulders. He was dressed with a black expensive suit. The other one was the woman found in the room by Natasha. Everyone in the room stopped what they were doing to look at the newcomers with an expression of fear. Seeing all sound had stopped in the room, the man and the woman turned around and saw the intruders. Natasha had once again the air knocked out of her lungs. Steve adopted a defensive pose. Suddenly the base started to shake. The sounds of machinery started up. As they looked into the big window at the end of the office, they saw the ground being farther away.

"Hello my Freunde" boomed the man in the suit. "I hope you enjoyed our base. As you can see we are going up in the air. But don't worry my dear Freunde. It is totally safe… for us. For you, as you can comprehend, it is not, especially if we are flying to our new base. We don't want you to know where it is, do we. So, goodbye dear Avengers. It was fun while it lasted. Darling please I think it's time that you accompany them outside"

The woman didn't say anything back. She just picked up a gun and a sword that were lying on a metallic table nearby and sprinted towards the two Avengers. She crashed into them and sent them flying outside the room. The door slammed close behind her.

* * *

 **Thank you for reading!**

 **If you find any mistakes in grammar or spelling tell me. I'm not an english speaker.**

 **Any ideas, suggestions or reviews are _very_ welcome.**

 **I have a few more chapters written. I'll try to upload weekly**


	2. Chapter 2

Natasha and Steve stood up and pointed their weapons at the woman. The woman with an impassive cold voice whispered "run" they didn't have time to think about it twice because as soon as she had finished uttering that word attacked Natasha sending her gun flying out of reach. Steve threw his shield at her to separate her from Natasha. The shield stuck on the wall behind the woman and could not retrieve it. They could still try to go on with their mission but seeing how the woman was fully armed and Natasha was having a really hard time fending her off, Steve decided for a retreat. They could locate the base later on time and be more careful.

It seemed like they have fallen straight into their trap thinking that the Avengers were the ones with the element of surprise. Steve and Natasha turned their backs to the woman and started to run through the corridor. The woman didn't go after them immediately. She picked up the shield imbedded in the metallic wall with a little bit of effort that wasn't registered in her face. She put it on her back and started the chase after the two Avengers.

They continued to run. Natasha had been turning her head to see if they were being followed. The black haired woman now was just behind them. Natasha felt almost they were being lead to somewhere. The woman speeded up her run when they were near some intersections of corridors making almost impossible to turn otherwise she maintained a constant pace not really strenuous. Natasha decided to think nothing of it. She was probably over thinking things. Finally they reached a big room that was equipped with terrestrial vehicles, parachutes, guns among other things.

They were in a dead end. There was a huge door at the end of the room but with the woman hot on their heels they didn't have time to find how to open it. They turned around to face the woman. Against what they expected, she didn't make any movement to attack them. She stood at the other end of the room a few meters in front of the door they have gone through.

She had her head turned towards the window situated on the left side of the room then suddenly started to move. Natasha and Steve tensed up to prepare for the incoming battle. The woman though didn't come near them. She went to the left and picked up two black bags. She went back to where she was and moved forward towards Natasha and Steve. She stopped a few meters before them and threw the bags to them. They picked them up. In closer inspection they realized that were parachutes. They looked back at the woman with surprised eyes. The woman held their gaze but her expression didn't change a bit.

Then a shoot rang through the air. Natasha and Steve looked at each other to check if they have received the shot. Both of them were unharmed. The shot was used to open the big door behind them. The wind whipped through the room. The three of them looked into each other's eyes. Suddenly the woman decided to throw the shield saying the final words "Be gone" which for Natasha sounded more like Be careful. As a result of the impact with the shield both of them fell though the door. Without the use of the parachute they would fallen into their death whereas with the parachute both of them made it safely into the ground. It seemed strange for us that the agent of the enemy had let them go. She could have just thrown them off the plane and kill them instantly but she let them live.

They just recovered from the fall and contacted with SHIELD to come and get them.

They made it back to New York without incidence in the plane SHIELD had sent. After cleaning themselves up a little in the SHIELD's headquarters, they went to Director Fury.

They stepped into his office which was as always clean and tidy.

"Agent Romanoff, Captain America" he welcomed them

"Director Fury" replied Natasha.

"Did you get it?" questioned Fury

"No we did not, sir" said Natasha back

"Did anything happened?" pushed Fury

"No it didn't. We just could not get it in time. We got into it but when we reached the place that held the information there were too many agents and the base started to fly. We had to retreat. " answered Natasha

Steve stood there looking back and forth form Natasha to Fury. He was confused why she wasn't saying anything about the woman. Steve decided not to say anything about her without first talking to Natasha who was the woman that seemed so important to her. Depending on the answer he would inform Fury or not. His loyalty towards his fellow agents came first. Maybe that woman would not be important in a future.

"Anything to add Captain?" inquired Fury looking straight into him with his eye. Steve broke out of his daze and composed himself.

"Nothing Director" answered Steve. Fury seemed to believe him because he didn't ask anything else. He just dismissed them and gave them a little vacation after this hard mission while SHIELD intel tried to get more information about the movements of this supposed threat.

They had been conducting this mission for two intense months of finding all the information possible about a new dangerous group. Their alliances weren't clear. Some thought them to be a small circle of HYDRA, others that was a small group who wanted to be accepted into HYDRA and others believed they were just another group to be defeated due to their twisted plans. Getting information of this group wasn't easy at all. They got very little during the mission. Moreover they couldn't discover if it was a related to HYDRA in some way or not. They finally got the location of their base and they must have known it as they were preparing to fly their base to somewhere else.

Everything of this mission disconcerted Steve. It caused some questions in Steve's head as he was lying on his bed in his apartment. There was a spy for them in SHIELD or they were one of the strongest espionage centers. His mind went round and round and nothing made sense. To top it the estrange reaction of Natasha with the woman. He knew he had to talk with her soon and make his decision. He decided to postpone it for a few days because they have just arrived. He discovered days later that he could not ask her in person because she had just disappeared somewhere. He didn't think it was a conversation to have over the telephone so he chose to wait until she came back.

He still wasn't accustomed to the new world he woke up. He had little time to do so. He had been defrosted and weeks later he was fighting Loki along with the Avengers. He was distracted of the situation he was while the fight with Loki. Maybe, because everything had seemed surreal.

At the end he had befriended the other members of the Avengers. He felt some kind of companionship with Thor because he also didn't catch most of the modern references or the modern world in general. He had liked Natasha as she did what was needed and also provided some kind of support even though she was a really closed person. Clint was also nice although he might be the Avenger who he had talked with less. He liked doctor Banner. He was a reasonable and nice person. But he felt a little bit guilty for what happened to him. The last of them all, Tony. Steve knew that they would really bond or they wouldn't be able to stand each other. Obviously they had clashed but could not predict the future of their relationship. He also didn't have any kind of doubt that if Iron Man needed help, he would provide it.

After the battle of New York, Tony had offered his tower to be the Avengers headquarters and also he had offered them a place to live.

Thor had accepted because he didn't know where else to go in case of need. Natasha and Clint did it to. Banner refused because although he liked Tony he didn't know if he could stand his commentaries all the time without going green. He also wanted to return to his old life though he knew he would have to come back if the need arose. Steve also refused. He was a really private guy and JARVIS didn't give him a sense of privacy. Also everything in the tower seemed too foreign, too modern. In some way it overwhelmed him. He decided to stay in a flat in Brooklyn that SHIELD gave him as a recompense for his service during the war. Tony however set a floor for each Avenger. In case of need they would have a place to crash.


	3. Chapter 3

Two weeks after being back in New York Tony called the Avengers for a meet up to check on each other. It was a usually occurrence after the Chitauri attack. They met up to know about each other, to exchange information and in result the bonds formed after Phil's death got stronger.

On this particular day the Avengers where relaxing in Tony's huge living room. There were all the members except Thor who hadn't been able to come from Asgard. Neither was Bruce who still wanted to be alone a little longer after the events of New York. He didn't trust himself yet. Tony was sitting on a bar stool next to the counter with a glass of whiskey. Pepper was on the other side of the counter opposite to Tony. Natasha and Clint where sitting on the sofa in front of the TV. Steve was sitting down in the table between the counter and the sofa. He was trying to learn how to use a telephone with small success. He just kept pressing the keys. They were so obvious to what was happening on the same tower they were in.

The group that Steve and Natasha had targeted during the mission was making their move. They had entered into the reception and made all the employees leave. The group was formed by at least fifty people fully armed.

The woman, besides the leader, the same woman they had encountered during the mission, had hacked into JARVIS and kidnapped the AI before the distress call sent by the system could reach Stark. She started a lock down procedure. They went through each floor kicking out the employees. The system would let them out until they reached the streets but didn't allow them to move inside the tower if not for leaving.

Finally they were reaching the last floor where the Avengers were chilling without knowing what was happening. All the doors and windows had been locked except the ones in the last floor to avoid being discovered.

The elevator was taking to the last floor ten people of the group. The other part was standing inside the tower watching the lower floors. AS the elevator reached his destination, all the windows and doors of the last floor locked themselves by JARVIS's command.

Before the invaders reached their destination, the living room was only illuminated by artificial light.

That's when the Avengers realized something wasn't right. Tony hadn't given any command

"JARVIS open the windows" commanded Tony to his AI in his usual bored voice. He wasn't alarmed by the lock down.

"Order overruled" JARVIS said in his informatics voice.

"JARVIS it is impossible I'm the one who can overrule I cannot be overruled" Tony replied. He was irritated that his own AI had the nerve to refuse him. He could not imagine that someone had been able to surpass his genius intelligence and hack JARVIS

"Sorry sir but someone else has higher permissions than yours" once again replied JARVIS.

"That's preposterous I created you. Open the damn windows, now!" almost shouted Tony.

That's when the ten people stepped into the living room. The woman stopped the argument of Tony with JARVIS by talking to her leader. The woman that now was wearing jeans and a black top was the same as the one in Natasha's mission.

"There are here four out of the six Avengers plus a civilian. We can consider Tony Stark unarmed and Steve Rogers too. Although be careful in case of engage due to his ability in hand to hand combat. The two assassins are probably armed check for hidden knifes or guns" said the woman with a monotone and bored voice. She was holding in her arm a little computer. To her right stood the man that Steve and Natasha had seen at the base with a satisfied smirk.

"If I had known you where coming I would have bought more alcohol. I'm sorry guys we'll have to share. Whiskey, anyone?" Tony said with his characteristic cockiness. He though he still had all the winning aces. He wanted to win time too to think about a strategy and specially take Pepper into safety.

"I'll take on your offer later but I don't drink on missions." Replied the enemy's leader. He made movement to indicate his guards to attack. Seeing this Tony interrupted him again as he had still trying to come up with a plan. This time he targeted the woman who seemed to be the second in command. The leader didn't even bat an eylash. He didn't get angry. He just had an amused smirk on his face. He looked like he had all the aces and any try to win the Avengers could do would be fruitless. It would only amuse him further

"So it's you the one who was able to hack into JARVIS. Impressive. I'm sorry to tell you that you are wrong I'm not unarmed." Replied Tony with full confidence which rapidly disappeared when he tried to call up his suit and nothing happened.

"I haven't just hacked into JARVIS I also went through your emergency protocols. So, yes, you are unarmed" with the same monotone voice as if talking to Tony Stark was the most boring thing in the world.

The intruders attacked the Avengers. The leader and the woman stood in the sidelines without engaging in the fight. They seemed pretty confident on their fighters.

Tony had tried to take down the one who attacked him but it was obvious the intruder was more trained than him and he could hardly fight him off. Although when he lost all his fight was when he saw that another intruder had already caught Pepper who he had ordered to run into the secret passage.

Steve had also trouble with his intruders. He was lead into an unfair fight two against one. Even without his shield he was holding himself quite well as it was to be expected from him. He hadn't received a lot of harm although he hadn't harmed the intruders seriously.

Natasha and Clint where also fighting two intruders each. They were having more trouble. The intruders had been able to separate them from each other. Clint was fighting with two long knives. He could not do a lot when he was shot by one of the intruders while fighting with the other. He was easily taken down then.

Two out of four Avengers down. Natasha lost her focus when she saw that Clint had been defeated. She had been able to kill one of the invaders by using her hidden gun. Now she was about to be stabber by the other intruder. Then suddenly another shot rang through the air that made the intruder stop for a few seconds which gave Natasha enough time to recompose herself and avoid the blade.

That was when she saw what the shot had caused. Steve was on the ground tangled in a net. She looked around for the shooter. The woman had in her hand a really big gun to shoot nets. Seeing the defeat of her team and that fighting would endanger them, she dropped her weapons and knelt to the ground as her other companions were. All of them were kneeling on the ground making a line beside each other, Pepper Tony Steve Clint and Natasha in that order, with an intruder behind them with a gun pointed at them. Steve had been released from the net. All of them were shaking in silent fury. They felt powerless. How could the mightiest heroes on earth go down that easily?

"Well, well, it seems you are not as strong as the media makes you. Look at you kneeling in front of me powerless. I'm disappointed. I expected more fight in you. " the leader taunted them while he walked up and down the line.

The woman hadn't moved from her place. She had just dropped her gun. The leader crouched in front of Natasha.

"Look at you. I thought your reason would be more impressive" said the leader looking back to the woman. The woman didn't show any kind of emotion on her face. She just looked back at her blankly.

"Now you have no option but obey me. Who knows what would happen if you put a toe out of line" sneered the leader at the woman.

That got an unconscious response from the woman. She tensed up and narrowed her eyes. That small change in her face changed the entire atmosphere in the room. It became tense, dangerous.

"We had a deal. Be sure you remember it" said silkily and softly but the threat underneath rang clearly through the air. She didn't need to raise her voice to make her point across.

The leader just laughed it off and turned back to Natasha. "I think a little bit of punishment is in order. After all you let them go and don't try to deny it" the woman tensed even more after this words. The leader raised his hand to slap Natasha but his hand didn't make contact with her face. Instead it started to bleed due to the shot it had received. He turned his head to the left and his eyes made contact with the woman whose eyes seemed to dare him to try again. She had moved into a place where she had a clear shot to his hand.

"Do you dare to attack me? Then face the consequences"

He could not let her go unpunished. She had openly defied him. He thought he had her under his thumb but seeing as it wasn't like that the best thing he could do was to kill her. She knew to much. She was to dangerous to have as an enemy. He had gambled to have her completely under his command by threatening Natasha and he had the complete opposite response.

"We had a deal" replied the woman simply at the same time she was walking behind the armed men pointing their guns to the Avengers until she stood between Tony and Pepper gunmen.

"You leave me no option. Please don't hate me I quiet like you. Shoot her" the leader ordered to the gunman holding Natasha.

Not a second later the hell broke free. The woman shot the invaders holding Pepper and Tony and threw a smoke grenade. The other Avengers sprang into action and got rid of their invaders. They made it into the elevator door which was closed. They stood with their backs on the metallic door facing the enemy.

"JARVIS open the elevator door" commanded the woman.

The door opened and they rushed inside. The door closed before any of the intruders could hold it off.


	4. Chapter 4

"You get out of the building. I will clean up this mess." Ordered the woman to the other people inside the elevator. The elevator stopped in the first floor where the woman got off saying "bye bye. Don't come until it's safe". The elevator descended into the ground floor. They tried to get it go to the first floor again but it didn't move.

As much as they wanted to help her, they didn't have any other option than follow the path the intelligent building let them.

They went outside in the street. There they saw a huge multitude observing the tower. Most of them were the workers that had been kicked out. There were also the police and agents from SHIELD. They tried to get back into the tower but found no way in because it was protected by a force field designed by Tony in case of danger. In this case it had been clearly counterproductive thought Tony to himself. They couldn't do anything else than standing there looking at the tower trying to figure out what was happening inside.

The many citizens congregated there tried to talk with the Avengers. Now they had the opportunity to talk to their heroes. They tried to ask them for autographs and photos. The Avengers ignored them. They had more important matters to worry about. The police separated the mass from the Avengers. Each Avenger had a different thought running through their heads. Tony was thinking this was his worst nightmare: being kicked out of his own property but more importantly by the AI JARVIS he had designed himself. It was unbelievable for him.

Pepper was worried for Tony as Clint was worried for Natasha, who was completely focused on the building looking for any movement.

Steve was concerned for the woman. He didn't felt right abandoning her inside with a lot of armed men. He wanted to help but this new technological inventions were keeping him from doing it.

Without any warning the force shield fell and the tower's door opened after an hour of waiting outside. No one came out. They waited for a few minutes. Natasha could not wait any longer and rushed inside before anyone could stop her. The other Avengers decided to follow her. Inside they went to the first floor. The entire floor was a bloodbath. The corpses of the intruders were lying in multiple positions. There was a small circle where there wasn't any body just the woman sitting on the floor with her head bowed down. Her black hair cascaded around her making impossible seeing her face. She had one leg bended and the other laid straight on the floor. In her hands which were on the floor she held two guns.

"I have found her" called Steve. He picked her up in bridal style with utmost care to avoid making her injuries worse. Natasha ran to where Steve was. She checked the woman's pulse and it was soft but it was there. She was concerned by the amount of blood the woman was losing. Her eyes keep analyzing all the woman's body checking for dangerous injuries.

"Bring her outside Cap. I'll go now to ask for an ambulance." She said running to the door.

Steve walked slowly to not cause the woman any harm or worsen her wounds.

When he got outside, he saw Natasha talking to Fury. The ambulance was already there. He loaded the woman laying her on the bed. The citizens and the press where still standing there. They were taking photos nonstop. It was sure that the following day this news was going to be all over the media. The police could not stop it. The Avengers ignored it although they felt irritated by it..

He got down the ambulance and went to offer support to Natasha who was clearly shaken. She crossed paths with him but didn't even see Steve. Her eyes were focused on the ambulance. Steve broke her out of her daze. He softly asked her if she wanted to ride with the woman or wait and go together. Natasha didn't answer. She got inside and the ambulance took off. When the ambulance had already left, he went to talk to Fury who was surrounded by all the other Avengers.

"Shall we go? I'm sure Natasha is in need of your support" Nick said as softly as the Director could without losing his commanding touch.

The agents of SHIELD were trying to keep the press at bay since the arrival of the Avengers. Although they have avoided that the press interviewed the Avengers, the agents could not stop the press of taking as many photos as they could. Fury was dreading how to clean that mess. The newspapers could not print that the Avengers had been kicked out of their tower as easily. That would make the public opinion think they weren't up for their job. Pepper stayed behind with Maria Hill as the Avengers went to Natasha.

The Avengers rushed into the SHIELD's hospital where the woman and Natasha were. They arrived and rushed through the reception. They weren't stopped by any guards as the security had already been warned. They went to the first floor where Maria had told them Natasha was. There they found her. In the white corridor she was sitting on a chair. She had her head on her hands and her elbows on her knees.

Clint went to her as quick as he could. He crouched in front of her and put a finger under her chin making her raise her head. What he didn't expect was to find Natasha's tear-stained face. He could count with one hand the times he had seen the spy cry. He became very worried. The others had come behind him and also looked very concerned for their fellow Avenger.

"Nat, sweetie, what's wrong? Are you okay?" Clint broke out of his façade of cool indifference he always wore.

"No please. No please. Not again. Not so close." Natasha kept muttering to herself

"Who is the woman, Nat?" Clint tried to make her talk again but she was so absorbed in her own world that she didn't even hear him. She just kept muttering and crying silently.

The Captain couldn't make out what was wrong with Natasha. All he knew was that the woman must be important for the spy and she wasn't harmed physically. He was aware for his own experience that some times when you felt that everything had gone wrong that you don't want to talk you just want a comforting presence there to give you security.

He just sat in the chair next to her and put a hand on her shoulder. Natasha didn't make any gesture that she noticed the Captain but calmed a little bit. Seeing this the Avengers sat on the chairs and comforted her without words.

The clock ticks were the only sound in the room. Time passed and the doctors operating on the woman still hadn't come out. No one wanted to leave Natasha alone although the exhaustion was weighting them down. At some point Tony brought some coffee and sandwiches. He hadn't dared to make any of his out of place comments. The situation was too difficult to joke about even to him. It wasn't every day that you saw Natasha all broken down.

After three hours of waiting, the doctor finally came out. Natasha who hadn't stopped muttering to herself even for one second rose as quickly as she could to know how the surgery went.

The doctor was a man on his forties going bald with a patient voice.

"She is okay. The surgery went very well and seems to be a quick healer. We will move her to the observation unit to make sure nothing goes wrong and if she passes the next twelve hours without incidence will move her to a room. These hours she will be sedated so I recommend you to clean up and rest for there is nothing you can do. When we move her up to a room we will stop the sedative. Unfortunately I cannot tell you when she is going to wake up. Once she is up we'll talk about medications and the rehabilitation. That's all I can say for now. Please follow my advice and rest."

Natasha sank into the chair she had occupied before with a relieved face. She was okay. She wanted to spend the night in the hospital but knew her friends would not allow it. The doctor was right she should rest because who knows how many days would it take her to wake up. She also felt the questioning eyes of her companions and thought she owed them an explanation.

"Let's go to the tower. I have already called Happy and he is waiting for us at the door to take us to the tower. I think it would be the best we spend tonight together." Tony said looking pointedly at Steve who nodded softly. He knew tonight they had to be there for Natasha although he wanted nothing more to lay on his bed.

"Are you sure the tower is safe?" Clint questioned. He could not forget how easily they had been caged inside defenseless. His paranoia acted up.

"It is safe. While you clean up I'll try to upgrade the security protocols. And I'm sure that there are very few people who can dismantle JARVIS as she had. No one had done it before." Assured Tony. Clint still was wary but he knew it was the best option.

Natasha hadn't said anything yet. Steve wrapped an arm around her to give her some comfort. Natasha thanked him with her eyes not trusting to say anything. The ride to the tower was a silent affair. No one talked. The car finally stopped in front of the tower. It had been cleaned up. There wasn't any trace what had happened. They all felt relieved. The bodies inside would make them remember what had happened.

Inside the tower in the reception waited for them Bruce who had heard for the news what happened. He was worried because he tried to contact his friends but nobody answered. Then Fury called him and explained what happened. He decided to wait here in the tower and supervise the agents of SHIELD cleaning. He didn't trust the agency very much. When he saw them crossing the door, he went to Natasha and embraced her lovingly. He knew she had the hardest time but still had to know why. Once they reached the last floor where the living room was, Natasha tried to explain her but Clint with the others support didn't want to hear a thing about it until she enjoyed a good hot bath.

Once all of them were refreshed and free of grime and dirt, they sat on the sofas. The sofas were in a C distribution. Natasha sat between Bruce and Clint in the middle sofa. On their left sat Tony with Pepper who had been waiting for them in the living room. And on the right was sitting Steve. Natasha was trying to get together to start explaining. As she was about to open her mouth a thunder silenced her. After the flash of lighting and the second thunder was heard, appeared Thor on the outside platform.

"JARVIS open the door for Blondie" Tony commanded.

"HELLO MY FRIENDS!" boomed Thor with a big grin

Thor came in. He was in a good mood. But it dissipated when he felt the atmosphere of the room. It was dark and serious. He sat as quietly as a huge god as he could next to Steve. Nobody said anything.

Natasha tried to put her thoughts in order. She would be transparent from now on to her friends. She wasn't sure she was ready for this kind of trust. She was about to tell her most buried secret. Not even SHIELD knew. She trusted her friends but this was a different matter. This was about her past. About feelings she had buried long ago. About a person she thought she wouldn't see again. Seeing her had broken her. She felt deceived, happy, shocked, sad, scared… and many emotions she could not name. She had the pressing need to explain, to say it out loud but she was scared.

She was a very secretive person. Her years as spy made her. She didn't want them to see her as a weak person. She didn't want them to judge her. She hadn't talked about anyone about this. She needed to let it out. Maybe it wasn't such a terrible secret but for her it was a very important part of herself. Thinking about that woman had given her strength when she had most needed. It was one of the reasons she had changed sides. She wanted to make her proud. She was scared that when she woke up she would be disappointed of her.

As Natasha's thoughts went round and round nobody talked. Not even Thor or Tony who were the most talkative. They didn't push her to talk. They just waited for her to collect herself.

Natasha's eyes finally became focused.

 **Let me know what do you think about this story! :)**


	5. Chapter 5

"It was winter when my parents died leaving me and my sister alone in this world. She was older than me by a few years. She took the task to take care of me and tried to not leave me waiting for anything. The orphanage was full and didn't accept us so we became two more children in the streets. When the food was tight, she gave me her food. When I needed clothes, she bought me some although she was dressed in rags. She tried to apply for many jobs no matter how hard they were but nobody wanted to hire her. She didn't have any other option than become a thief. She became one of the best.

At the beginning it wasn't unusual for her to come under the bridge where we lived full of bruises because she had been caught. We had built a small room if I could call that room with cardboard and scrap-wood. I wanted to help her but she didn't ever let me. She made me go to school. As the time passed she became better and better at stealing and that arose unwanted attention. She also had become good at fighting. She had to protect me. She didn't want me to have blood in my hands. If she could see me now, what would she say?" she was narrating her story more to herself than for her audience. Nobody dared to interrupt. It was clear she was hurting and needed to vent it out.

After breathing deeply a few times she continued.

"No one dared to harm us after a while. She had gotten herself a butcher knife and had become quite adept at handling it. Of course the first times she had to defend us she almost died. But as she improved, her fame expanded and very few dared to try to harm us. She had made a name for herself in the underworld. We spent six months like that. When she felt comfortable with her abilities as a thief and with her knife, she became bolder and stole bigger things. At the beginning she had just stolen food. Now she stole the money of the rich.

With that money we afforded a small place which although it was pretty run down, it was better than the bridge. I felt so useless. I wanted to help but she didn't let me. She made me go to school. I begged her to teach me what se had learned.. She didn't want to. She thought I wouldn't need it. At the end she craved and started to teach me how to fight, how to steal and how to mingle with the crowd. We had survived for two years since the death of our parents until that happened. I still wonder if it was my fault. I wanted to help. She had taught me how to steal and how to protect myself. Why couldn't I also do what she did? I though school was useless. I just wanted to help my sister and she didn't let me.

One time I tried to ditch school. But as I was climbing the school fence I saw a figure on the street side. She was waiting there boringly for me to jump to the other side with her arms crossed. I thought she had come to pick me up from school and let me help her. But when I finally stood in front of her with a big stupid smile on my face she rolled her eyes. She grabbed my ear and bought me to my teacher by the ear. I still remember that my ear was red for three days straight. I was stubborn so I tried again to escape from school and there she was again. Let's say I just turned around and went to class." Natasha chucked to herself. She wasn't with the Avengers. She was reminiscing the past where she had been happy with her sister.

"That happened for a few times before I gave up. I think she had a special sense to know when I was trying to leave the school before time. One day I was going home alone which was an unusual occurrence and I was approached by two men. They proposed me a job as a spy. They had seen my sister and believed I had even more potential. They told me I would just have to do small tasks and the training needed would be provided. I was ecstatic. I could bring money to home. I could help my sister and selfishly I must admit I also wanted to make a name for myself. They gave me three days to think about it.

At first I wanted to keep it secret from my sister therefore I didn't tell her the first day. But the second day I could not resist, I was so happy. I wanted to share it. I needed to tell it to my sister, my biggest and only confidant. Besides I also wanted to boast. To tell her I was better than her, that I could help and make a bigger name. I expected her to be happy for me; she always told me I was better than her, or to be angry with me and jealous of me. But I didn't expect her to have neither. She paled as she listened to me. She asked me where was I supposed to give my answer and ordered me not to come. When the day arrived, she locked me inside our small room and went to meet them. I was fuming. Who was she to steal my glory? All my anger went out the door at the moment my sister unlocked me.

She wasn't the same. She was focused. She was packing my things and her things in different bags that she had brought. I became worried. Were we running away? From what? I still wanted to give her a piece of my mind. My words weren't heard. She just kept emptying the place of our belongings. The next day I didn't see her in all day. It was strange. She always picked me up. I tried to escape again just to see her again however she wasn't there on the other side of the fence. I ended up going back to class. I waited for her outside school but she didn't come either. Seeing she wasn't coming I went back home. She wasn't there either. She arrived by midnight looking drained. She smiled at me softly and kissed my forehead. I just brushed her off. She spent the following day trying to spend time with me. I gave her the cold shoulder. She kept trying to be with me. But I just kept shrugging her off. We had just finished eating dinner when she said the last words I've heard from her."

Natasha's eyes were focused on the table in front of her as she was recalling her past. Tears were falling from her eyes. They could not be stopped. She had just bottled in so many emotions and feelings that now talking about the past made her remember them and run free.

"She said: Natasha be happy and be free. Be whoever you want to be. Don't be someone that someone else wants you to be. Live your life at the fullest. Do it for me. I sure you'll be great. Know that whatever you do I'll be proud of you. Even I might not be here beside you, know that I watching over you. You are the most important person in my life, Natasha. Here I give you some money in case of need. I also bought enough presents for your next birthdays in case I'm not here. I hope you like them. If an old man comes through that door and asks you: have you found the cat? Go with him. He will keep you safe. I'll catch up with you as soon as I can. Know that I love you very much sis. That's what she told me.

I became angsty once she stopped speaking. It seemed she wasn't coming back. As I voiced my worries, she laughed them off. She told me that all of these were only precautions. I became mad at her. I supposed the men who wanted to recruit me were coming after us because she had told them I wouldn't work for them. It wasn't her call, I fumed. The next day when I woke up I saw I was alone. I wasn't immediately concerned. My sister sometimes had jobs very early. But as the hours passed I became scared, was she alright?, angry, she should be home by now, disappointed, she told me she loved me so much and now she spends the day without me, remorseful, maybe I shouldn't have brushed her of so coldly."

The inhabitants of the room held their breath. It was obvious what was about to happen but saying it made it real, unchangeable. Natasha gathered her courage to say the phrase.

"I never saw her that day or all the next that followed."

A broken sob escaped from Natasha. She was crying openly. During her life she hadn't had much time to work on getting over her past. She had just pushed towards the future avoiding thinking about the past. Bruce embraced her and let her cry on his shoulder. Several minutes passed and Natasha regained her composure. She got out of Bruce embrace.

"I didn't know what happened. My sister hadn't done anything like that before. I felt so alone. I always had my sister to rely on. I was alone. So independent I felt when she was beside me and suddenly I realized how protected from the world I had been. I had turmoil of emotions. I didn't know if she had abandoned me, if the men had given her a very important mission or if she had been killed. A month later from her disappearance an old man came to our place and asked me the question. He told me she had been killed by the men that had approached me.

I felt a collapsing guilt and despair. I couldn't do anything. I would do what my sister told me. I would make her proud. I went with him and he protected and provided me until he was killed. I had attracted undesirable attention and the old man was a nuisance to get me. They killed the man. They lied to me making me join their program with promises of revenge, as I didn't know they were the ones who killed him, and promises of glory and purpose. While my sister was with me, I knew what I wanted to do with my life. Be better than my sister. My life mission had changed t was making her proud. And the following regarding the red room you already know."

Some of the Avengers didn't know what happened. Even so they knew they could get that information in the SHIELD files. They didn't want to make Natasha go over more things in the past than necessary. She wasn't finished. She had to explain the relationship between her sister and the injured woman.

"When I went with Steve into that base, I didn't expect what I would find there. I found her. The first time I saw her I was in shock. It wasn't possible. I got over it just a little bit to finish the mission. But we could not finish it. We were chased by her. She threw us off the plane. But it was odd; she had given us the parachutes and the Captain's shield back. She was almost saving us. After a few days here recovering I convinced myself that it had been a figment of my imagination. I had seen what I wanted to see. The uncanny resemblance with her was just a coincidence. But today I could not lie to myself any longer. It's her. I'm sure of it. Please, I've just got her back. Please don't take her away from me." Begged Natasha

Clint in all their years together hadn't seen Natasha beg. Opening up and letting herself feel had left her drained. The exhaustion of the day was also catching up with her. Clint embraced her with an arm. Pepper rose up to prepare hot chocolate for all the present. The Avengers sat sipping the hot chocolate silently. The only sounds in the room were Natasha's soft sniffs. With their silent presence they wanted to make Natasha knew that they had her back. As soon as they had finished the chocolate, they rose one by one to tell Natasha that everything was going to be okay. At the end she was alone with Clint. They knew that the relationship between the assassins was deeper so the one who could help Natasha the best was the archer. Too many people around her wouldn't help her in this state.

 **let me know what you think and any mistakes you find!**


	6. Chapter 6

The first daylights illuminated the room. Natasha was already awake and ready to go. The hospital hadn't called them during the night meaning everything was alright with the patient. Natasha didn't want to wait for the others to be ready. She went to the garage and started up her black corvette.

Once the others woke up they saw Natasha wasn't there. They got prepared and went were they expected her to be, to the hospital.

She was sitting on an uncomfortable hospital chair besides a hospital bed. In the bed rested the black haired woman. Natasha had one of the woman's hands between her own. She seemed to be prying in Russian to whatever god was willing to listen to her.

"How's she?" inquired the Captain

"The doctor said that everything went well during the night and today's morning check out confirmed that everything has started to heal well. Now when she wakes out or if she wakes out is on her hands."

The Avengers bowed their heads in sadness. They were worried because if the woman didn't wake up, Natasha would be crushed considering the woman was who they believed. Seeing the small room where the women were they decided to take turns in being inside. What they didn't expect was that Natasha kicked them out. So they took turns to wait outside the room knowing that being all of them there wasn't needed.

For three days the same routine took place. Natasha would go to the hospital in the morning until the end of the visitors' hours. Outside would be one Avenger waiting. On the fourth day Natasha stood beside the bed. She was talking softly to her sister. The only person she could be herself with, with whom she could express her feelings. She was telling how much she needed and missed her. The woman's fingers started to twitch. The heart monitor went crazy. The nurses and the doctor rushed inside the room to check on the patient. They circled the bed making Natasha stand behind them.

The first thing Natasha's sister saw were the faces of all the nurses and doctors looking down at her. She didn't think. Her survival instinct took over. She pushed the nurses on her left and tried to leave the bed. The nurses tried to grab her but she avoided their hands and pushed them aside to stand up. When the nurses were pushed aside the woman had seen the only woman that wasn't dressed as a nurse. She rushed to her and grabbed Natasha's face. She looked into Natasha's eyes and her own widened.

Steve went into the room hearing the commotion that was taking place inside. He saw the two women staring into each other's eyes. He was ready to remove the woman from Natasha when she exclaimed.

"NATALIE" was the first pronounced by the woman. Her voice mixed a bit of incredulity and happiness.

She just fainted after that. Steve was fast enough to catch her as she fainted. He put her carefully into the bed. The doctors examined her. Everything was in order. They just had to patch up the wounds that the stunt had reopened. Natasha's eyes shined with unsheathed tears.

"It's her, Steve. It's my big sis" she whispered. Steve hadn't ever seen as much emotion in Natasha's eyes not counting when she narrated her past. He just put a hand on her shoulder and gave her a soft smile. He turned to examine the woman lying on the bed. She had a long straight black hair. He wondered if it was dyed. It was so different from Natasha's. She had long eyelashes and full lips. Her skin was tanned. She was fit, he observed. She had slender hands. She wasn't very tall. He couldn't say if for sure but it seemed she was a little bit shorter than Natasha. Studying her in silence, he saw she was a little bit on the thin side. Her cheeks should be fuller. That could have been cost by the trauma her body had suffered.

"Do you want me to leave?"

Natasha took a few seconds to answer his questions.

"No please stay"

Steve sat beside Natasha. They looked quietly at the resting woman.

"What was she like?" asked Steve trying to make Natasha open up again. To make her forget the tense moment of a few minutes ago.

"She was strong. Physically and mentally. I was so broken when our parents died. I spent a month crying. I didn't see her cry. She raised me. She was so beautiful. I wanted to grow up to be like her. On day I asked her for my birthday to go to a club. She got us clothes to dress up nice. The boys in the club fought just to dance with her. She had her ways with words. She got every drink we asked for free. She made me forget the hard situation we were living. She was or is the best sister that anyone could ask for."

"How do you feel discovering she is alive?"

"I don't know Steve. I don't know. I've always wondered if by some crazy chance my sister was alive and now she has come back to me I don't know what to feel. Why did she abandoned my? Why did she forget about me? What happened to her? She hates me? During the mission did she want to help us or kill us?" Natasha rambled on looking down. That questions didn't let her rest peacefully.

The woman woke up the following day in a more pacific way. Her eyelashes started twitching and a few seconds later she opened her eyes slowly. Natasha stood up and tucked a hair lock behind her sister ear. Steve didn't realize she had woken up. He continued napping in his chair.

"Natalie? It's you?" croaked the woman looking at Natasha with wet eyes.

"Yes, it's me. The question is who are you?" Natasha wanted to make sure the woman was who she thought she was.

"I'm Irina Romanoff sister of Natasha Romanoff" stated the woman trying to sit up slowly. When she was in a more straight position, she rolled up the sleeve of her hospital gown and showed Natasha a scar that went from the wrist to her elbow making a straight line.

"It's you. It's really you." stuttered Natasha.

They looked into each other's eyes. Natasha tried to find in her sister's eyes the reason why she had left behind.

"Why did you leave? Why did you leave me? Why you didn't come back? Who were those men? Where have you been? Have you been watching me? Why did you lie to me? Why did you try to take my moment? Why didn't you come back for me? Have you ever cared about me?" shot Natasha without breathing all the questions that were weighting her down. She breathed in slowly and formulated the question that worried her the most "Did I make you proud?"

Tears started to fall from Natasha's eyes but she didn't want to be consoled by her sister. She wanted answers. She was hurt. She thought she was alone while her sister was still alive. She could have contacted her in some way.

"Natalie…" sighed Irina.

"Do NOT Natalie me! Explain! You owe me!" shouted Natasha. Her shout awoke Steve who looked between the two women. Irina raised her hand slowly as a greeting. Steve was shocked. He had never seen Natasha losing her cool.

"Good morning Captain" she said with a soft smile. Steve took a few moments to react.

"Good morning ma'am"

Irina nodded at his words. Natasha became even angrier that her sister was ignoring her.

"Explain!" shouted Natasha again.

"Natalie, please calm down and we shall talk" replied Irina softly.


	7. Chapter 7

Steve hadn't ever seen Natasha that out of control. Not even when Loki brainwashed Clint.

"Do NOT tell me to calm down!" hissed Natasha. She raised her arm to kick her sister in her wounded shoulder. She was about to lower her hand to hit her when the Captain grabbed her wrist.

"Natalie, it is not right to hit the injured. I think you and I need a fight to work out that rage in some other way. Thank you Captain by the way. If it wasn't for you, I would be now in much more pain" Irina just said this softly and with a smile painted on her lips.

Steve was surprised how Irina was so calm although Natasha almost hit her. She almost didn't bat an eyelash. She even answered Natasha cordially as she hadn't just tried to harm her. Steve imagined that her ability to do this was due to her training.

"Sister I'm warning you…" hissed Natasha.

"I have a question Natasha before you start. Do you want me to talk to you alone or when there is all your team with you? it can wait it's not like I can go anywhere"

She asked without any trace of her smile. She simply looked at Natasha. she was treating this like they were talking about the weather and that annoyed Natasha to no end. Irina knew that if she got emotional it wouldn't be good. She had to be as calm as she could be while she explained the story. Natasha was already too emotional to add her emotions.

"I want to know it now!" said Natasha impatiently. She could not wait. She had spent since they were separated wondering about her and about what happened.

When she acquired her important position in SHIELD she used it to look for any kind of information about her sister even if it was where her body laid. She needed closure. But also because it was her deepest secret she had to be very careful to avoid that anyone learned her secret. Before being in SHIELD she also tried to investigate it but her resources were less.

"Okay. Check the room for bugs or cameras there is no need in giving free information. Then sit down we are going to be here for a while" commanded Irina. She had a voice of someone who was used to give orders and these being followed completely without complain.

Her voice left no room for objection. It almost obliged you to obey. It was clear she was used to be obeyed. Natasha and Steve rose to look for bugs. They found three and a camera. All the devices were conveniently destroyed.

"Are you sure you don't want me to leave?" inquired Steve nervously. He didn't know what to do. He knew they needed time alone but he wanted to be sure that no one got harmed. He didn't know who he was protecting seeing Natasha's previous actions.

"Stay. Keep me calm through this." Said Natasha impassively.

They sat in their respective chairs and Natasha looked pointedly at Irina to make her start talking.

"Do you remember the two men that approached you? Of course you do. You were so happy that you had caught their attention. You didn't stop to think those men were worse news than normal. I knew that you wanted to be like me but I didn't desire that future for you. It's a hard life. I can tell you.

After you told me, I went to talk to them in your place. To see who they were and what they wanted exactly. For the things you told me and what I had heard I knew they were bad news. I had to check it. If they had been the usual clients I would have let you do their job. I thought to myself that if their job was good and more or less save without complications I would let you do it. While of course I would watch you from the shadows.

It would have been cruel to not allow you to do it. But one step at time. I had to know some important things that you hadn't asked in your joy.

This two men weren't the usual nobodies that we were accustomed to. These two men were part of a very powerful organization. They were looking for new people to train as spies. They revealed to me that their first objective wasn't you. It was me. I was dismissed because I was too opinionated. I couldn't follow orders without thinking. There was a high risk that I would rebel against them at some point.

Your abilities weren't as good as mine but you were more malleable more manipulable. They wanted you to undergo a training that many would die during it. Once finished the survivors would be their new spies that would be sent into missions based on collecting intellect and killing.

I don't know why they told me all of this. Maybe because they thought me weak or because they expected the result that finally happened. I had one ting clear I couldn't let them touch you. I couldn't let you go through all of this they had mentioned. You were too innocent.

So I made a deal. You would be protected. No harm would come to you. In exchange I would be their most loyal spy. The next day I organized everything in a way you could live happy life.

I talked with my friend the man that took care of you. I explained him everything. I also told him to tell you I was dead. I thought it would be easier for you. I stole prizes much bigger than the ones I dared before. I spent money buying your birthday presents which I hope you have enjoyed.

The next day I tried to spend it all with you. Knowing they would be the last moments we would be able to share. However you were giving me the cold shoulder. I understood but I could not leave you be because being with you although you were angry was better than leaving without saying goodbye.

Until I finished the training I didn't get to see you. From then up to now I have watched you from afar. I helped you when I could.

I could not be always there because I was sent to many missions of many different kinds. It's no excuse but all I did was to protect you. All in all I see it was useless, wasn't it.

You weren't captured by these two men but were captured for another organization. My heart stopped when I saw you in the base, I wanted to hug you, to tell you everything although I had to prioritize. Your safety has always come first. That's why I ran to the central office. To avoid that you came after me. Then when you saw me again there I used the orders given to me to lead you towards that room as I was chasing you and I waited until the plane was over flying safe land to kick you out giving you the parachutes.

Then I was informed of our new mission. I could not rebel. I would put you in danger. I followed my orders. Even though, as always I had designed a plan in case something went wrong. As it did. I had you in front of me in danger. If I defeated them I could be free and protect you. I just needed a push that came in the form of him breaking the deal." Narrated Irina.

She couldn't look into her sister's eyes she was ashamed. Natasha noticed how her sister was avoiding her eyes. At some point during the speech Steve had put his hand on Natasha's shoulder because he had seen that she was breaking apart. Natasha put her hand on Steve's hand trying to take in the comfort it gave. She was having a hard time absorbing what her sister said. She sat up suddenly brushing off Steve's hand.

She could not be sitting down for another second. She paced around the room up and down. Then she stopped by her sister side and demanded the answers for the questions that were plaguing her mind.

"Why couldn't we have run away? Why didn't you let us fight with you in the tower?"

"I was afraid they would follow us. Also I didn't want you to go through the adaptation process of a new place again. You had problems making friends with the other kids. You were so distrustful. You had made a pair of friends and I didn't want to separate you.

Also I knew that they would have followed us if we escaped. They had the resources to do it. The life of a fugitive is hard and I didn't want you to have it.

For the matter of the tower: I didn't let you fight because you were unarmed. I knew their weak points due to I trained most of them. And the most important I didn't want you to be harmed in any way."

Irina almost didn't get to finish her last word before Natasha interrupted her.

"And dying wasn't going to harm me, sister?"

"I'm not that important. I'm dispensable. I'm sure you would have been able to get over it. Tell me have you caught Fredrik?"

"The leader? No. by the time the SHIELD agents arrived at the top of the tower they had disappeared"

"Not really intelligent are these SHIELD agents, are they?" said Irina more to herself than for the other two persons in the room

"Why didn't you reveal yourself to me, sister?" interrogated Natasha. she was sure her sister could have had many occasion to reveal herself why didn't she do it specially when Natasha got in SHIELD where she could provide security.

"First of all because your security. If I had run or you have learned that I was still alive, you would have been targeted to make me submit or to eliminate you. And also I was ashamed of myself. Although I keep repeating to myself that I did everything for you and I could not change anything if I wanted you to be save, I could not avoid feeling that I had abandoned you.

I'm ashamed of abandoning you. I'm ashamed of changing. I'm not the same sister you remember. All of this has changed me and if I sometimes don't recognize me I don't know how you could. I have done many things that I'm ashamed of doing them. It is not a consolation for me to think I could not do anything else. I imagine that the primordial reason I didn't make myself known to you was my shame."

Natasha was on the verge to cry. She was controlling her tears. She had to ask what she considered the most important question.

Steve was also touched by the things Irina explained. He could in some way emphasize with her as he know the atrocities committed in war and could imagine it was somewhat similar the feeling.

"Let me ask you one thing sister." Natasha needed to clear up one of her most fears. She needed to know the answer to the question that had been on her mind almost all her life.

"As many as you want" smiled softly Irina. Steve mingled with the surroundings trying to make himself invisible. Not that the other women were paying him attention. He felt he was intruding in a very personal moment. He also knew he could not leave. The women would notice it and it would be pretty awkward.

"Are you proud of me?" muttered Natasha like she was afraid of the answer. She was afraid what her sister would say it might break her. But she knew she had to know.

"I've been always proud of you" Irina looked into her sister's eyes. Her eyes shower the honesty of her answer. Natasha who had been holding her tears could not do it any longer. She embraced her sister and cried softly on her shoulder.

She could not believe it. Her sister was here. She was not alone. Irina just rubbed Natasha's back as she cried. Irina had also her eyes wet but she wasn't crying. She was controlling her emotions. She had time to cry when she was alone. Cry of relief, of happiness, of anger. The exhaustion of the worries that her sister appearance had caused started to weight her down. She started to fall sleep. Before she could her sister softly woke her up.

"Nattie, honey, why don't you take a shower and sleep a little bit? you come back tomorrow. It's not like I'm going anywhere and I'm fine."

Natasha refused. She didn't want to leave her sister's side. With a little bit of persuasion from her sister's part, Natasha finally craved and went of the Avengers tower. Steve offered to accompany her but Natasha refused his offer.

Noticing she wanted to be alone to digest everything he just let her be. He ended up being alone with Irina in the hospital room.

"You can leave if you want. I'm not going anywhere you know. My leg is killing me."

"No. I think Natasha would appreciate if I stayed here with you."


	8. Chapter 8

"You are a good man Steve. You care about her"

"She is my teammate" replied Steve

"Tell me how is she like now? How did you both meet?" Inquired Irina

If Steve usually felt awkward talking with women, now he felt especially awkward. He was in a room with a very beautiful woman who was asking him to talk about her sister.

He went red something that hadn't happened to him in a long time.

He didn't know what to say. Natasha was a complex character so defining her was difficult even more if you had to measure your words to not anger her sister. He decided to answer the question he find the safest.

"We.. we… met in the Hellcarrier, yeah, and all the mess with Loki. We fought together during the battle of New York. We kind formed a team, the Avengers. I'm sure you heard of us. I mean…. I wanted to say…. I don't want you to think I'm pompous."

Irina smiled softly at Steve seeing the trouble he had speaking. She found it endearing. His cheeks had acquired a red tint. He didn't want her to think he was full of himself but the Avengers were all over the news. Irina laughed softly.

"Don't worry I understood. You don't know how to talk to women, do you?"

It took a little bit to Steve to answer. His mind went to the time Peggy hat uttered a similar words before the serum. He was lost remembering his past before he remembered she had asked him a question.

"I… I didn't talk with many dames I mean, I mean, women during my time. And since I woke up in this new century some weeks ago the only conversations I had with women were work related. After all I'm still adjusting to this new world"

He blushed. He hoped that she understood that he had little time to adjust and didn't think of him as an awkward person.

"If your mind is half as good as your body I'm sure you'll get there" Irina winked at him.

Steve went beet red for the compliment or it was an attempt of flirting. He didn't know if there was anything in that comment. Not many people had paid him any compliments.

Before the war he was scrawny. During the war he was surrounded by men. The only women he met during the war were the blond secretary who went directly for the kill and Peggy whose strong façade stopped her of complementing him.

After he had been defrosted he only got to talk with Maria Hill who was married with her work and wasn't interested in anything that wasn't work and Natasha. May be he would have been more used to compliments if he went into the internet but still he hadn't had time for learning how to use the internet. He had to admit he hadn't still learned to use any of the new time's gadgets. He was still wrapping his mind over the fact the war had ended and he had been sleeping for 70 years.

He hadn't gone out too much. Some times with his new friends or to his early morning joggin session but not more. He wasn't comfortable with his celebrity status and didn't know where to go or to do.

The moment was broken by Tony entering the room. Tony examined the room looking for Natasha.

"Good morning or should I say afternoon sleeping beauty. Where is Natasha?"

"Hello you too. I wouldn't say sleeping beauty seeing the prince hadn't still kissed me but I'll keep the beauty. And Natasha? You know what happens when you sleep for a long time. You wake up hungry. So I ate her." Irina replied with a straight face.

Tony didn't know what to make out of that answer. He did know that Natasha wasn't harmed because the woman was in no condition to move. On the other hand she had said everything with such a straight face that made you believe her. He also was sure that good old Steve wouldn't have let anything happen to his partner. The Captain was trying to not snigger. So Tony did what he always did: have the last word.

"I'm pretty sure eating your sister is illegal in almost every culture. I could make you to be arrested."

"Then you would make Natasha pretty upset even if she is inside my stomach and you know that's scary and I would sue you for accusing me of false deeds."

"You are good I like you"

"That's what you say to admit defeat in a verbal sparring? Or are you just trying to get the last word?"

Tony didn't know how to react or what to say. He chose to go for the safest route; start all over again.

"Hello. I'm Tony Stark. I'm sure you heard of me. I'm the owner of Stark industries as well as being Genius, billionaire, playboy, philanthropist and a member of the Avengers. Nice to meet you." said Tony with his usual cockiness.

"Hello Tony Stark owner of Stark industries, genius, billionaire, playboy and philanthropist. I'm Irina, Natasha's sister. Although I think Pepper wouldn't be happy with you describing yourself as a playboy."

If looks could kill, Irina would have already been dead cold. Tony didn't know if that reply was intended as a threat but he didn't want to take any chances. He was interrupted when he opened his mouth to confront her. He could not let the mention of Pepper's name slide of there was a small possibility that was a veiled threat.

"Look, don't take it personally. We had to make our job to get into the Avenger's tower without casualties. It is one of the safest places in the world you know. We had to learn everything to don't make any mistake. You had a damn hard code to break you know?" she had realized that had touched a sore spot so she decided to make peace before the things escalated.

Steve decided to keep quiet and see how the things developed. It gave him time to analyze the woman.

"And still you got into it. No one ever had been able to do that. If you entered to my computer it means you can enter into any computer in the world"

That man was too full of himself thought Irina. It had been hard getting in his computer but that didn't make his statement true.

"Your life doesn't depend on breaking codes, mine did. So don't be surprised that I was able to do it. If it heals a bit your bruised ego I must say it's one of the hardest codes I have ever broken into. Even so I wouldn't say I can get into any computer; there are some mad hackers out there that I'm sure they would give me a run for my money."

"I'll forgive you and forget all the damages caused to my tower in exchange you teach me how to strengthen my code. We have a deal?" Tony knew she was good and although it was hard for him to accept it she might be better than him. Now he had the opportunity he wanted to use her for his code.

"No. let's do this. I don't work well with other people inside a small office. So my proposal is that I alone change your code and then when I finish you come and look into it. You are a genius I'm sure you will understand it. On the other hand I want to be paid for my services. Old habits are hard to break. I understand I have already paid you back for the damages when I saved you all and defeated them by myself. So I want to be paid. You aren't going to become poor." She challenged him

They looked into each other's eyes. Steve had been forgotten in the background. He didn't want to interrupt either. He thought the interruption would worsen the matters. He had the feeling that Irina and Tony were testing each other. How much could they push each other. How trustworthy they were. They were reaching and understanding and trying to find if they respected the other person.

The tension in the room was dissolved when Tony tended his hand to Irina who shook it without hesitation. They had reached an agreement. They had made a pact of no aggression. They weren't friends. They still didn't trust each other. Tony distrusted everyone at first by nature and Irina for experience. But they wouldn't go one against the other. May be their relationship could become more significant in the future. For now it was enough for both of them.

"Cap if you don't mind to take over my turn. Pepper is calling because I have to go to a reunion urgently. Goodbye sleeping beauties." That had been his excuse to go to the tower and find all the information he could on Irina. He cared about his friend and didn't want anyone get hurt. Better be safe.

Tony just turned around and went through the door without giving the Captain any opportunity to refuse. Steve wouldn't have said no. First of all because he had promised Natasha he could watch over her sister. Secondly because he was interested in her. She seemed as out of place as him. He could feel some kind of companionship in that matter.

He still didn't know how to talk to women. The only woman he knew how to speak with was Natasha because he saw her more like a fellow Avenger than as a woman.

"So we are alone again. You didn't have to stay." Even though her words said one thing she wanted him to stay. She liked him. He was very nice and felt he understood her in some way. And being as attractive as he was gave her something to look at and not dwell on her thoughts

"I have already told you that I wanted to"

"If I cannot persuade you on the contrary, I shall let you be. Do you mind if I take a small nap? A little bit of sleep will do wonders."

"No worries I will distract myself"

Noting he didn't know how to distract himself seeing as he had already read the newspaper lying on the besides the bed.

"You can talk with the nurses. They would be pretty happy to chat with you." joked Irina

The face Steve made said it all. When he had arrived in the hospital he avoided all the nurses he found on his way. They had already on the previous days approached him asking him to go on a date, to stay for a chat,… he didn't want to be impolite but he felt really uncomfortable with so much female attention. He still was finding his place. He wasn't ready to start looking for someone. If it happened along the way, he would take it. But he wouldn't go looking for a relationship.

"You can ask someone to bring you a book to read."

He liked the idea. He could read a book to understand more of this new century. He didn't want to bother anyone. He tried to call Bruce to ask him if he was near and could bring him a book. He was having a hard time. He just didn't understand this new technology. How could something so little do as many things as Tony mentioned. He just didn't get it. Tony had given him the most advanced phone available but he didn't understand how it worked.

He just knew how to answer a call and making one although the last one he had still trouble with. Irina was looking at him with sweet amusement. Tony had given him the best smartphone available but possibly it hadn't been the best for Steve. Some old Nokia would have been better for him to learn and grow accustomed to this new technology. She saw his half panicked look and half frustrated.

"Hey, do you have it saved on contacts?" said Irina breaking his intense stare at the mobile screen while he was trying to figure out what did he have to do to call. She feared that if he stared any longer the phone would melt in his hands.

"I… I.. I think I do" shuttered Steve. He was embarrassed. He felt like a fool for not knowing how to operate the dispositive. He was ashamed that even the small kid he had seen during one of his runs could use without problems the dispositive and for him it was a nightmare.

"Hey hey, no worries. You'll get the hang on it. Come here beside me." Said Irina patting the side of the bed.

Steve went reluctantly. He handed her his phone. Softly she explained to him how to call someone from the contact list.

"I think you might need some lessons" suggested Irina.

"I think that too" said Steve ashamedly.

"Hey, hey, no need to be embarrassed. If you want I could teach you a little bit sometime" She found this excuse to see him again.

"I… I would appreciate it" said Steve embarrassed. He stood there not knowing what should he do so Irina helped him.

"Now the test of today's lesson. You go and call. Off you go!" ushered him out with her hands.


	9. Chapter 9

Steve stepped outside and recalled all the steps she had taught him and finally was able to call Bruce.

The kind doctor said he was already on his way. Fifteen minutes later he arrived with Steve's book. Irina was already sleeping. Bruce questioned Steve about the woman. Was she really who Natasha said she was? Had she woken up? And many other questions. The kind scientist was worried for the spy.

He cared about her but didn't dare to act upon it. He felt he didn't deserve her. He prayed no one noticed. Luckily for him Steve was the only one who noticed because he once felt the same with the beautiful Peggy. Steve kept quiet about his observations. Bruce was thankful for that he feared to think what would have happened if it had been Tony the one who had discovered his feelings.

Bruce took his leave saying he had to go back to his lab. The real reason why he spent as little time as he could in the hospital it was he feared transforming to his other self and harming the people of the hospital.

Steve was once again alone in the small room. Now he had something to read. Bruce had brought him a book about the Second World War. Steve appreciated the effort. He knew Bruce had chosen that book to give something to read he would be able to imagine and was familiar to him and then go forward but Steve wasn't ready to look into his past life just yet. So he was again without anything to do once again.

Without knowing it he started to drift off to sleep. He wasn't really feeling sleepy but maybe seeing someone sleeping so calmly triggered that reaction. He had very little sleep since he had woken up from the ice. The problem was that he didn't feel the need to sleep and once he tried to do it he was woken up by nightmares of his past or what could have been. All of that made sleep lose its appeal to Steve.

When he woke up, he met the intense stare of the other occupant of the room. The black haired woman was staring at him as if he was a mystery. She looked as she was trying to piece together a puzzle. When she realized he had woken up, she blushed and lowered her eyes shyly.

The hospital doctor irrupted into the room before neither of them could say anything. He asked Steve to leave so he could check the patient. Steve was reticent. He didn't want to leave her alone with the doctor. He didn't trust any of them. Although she was Natasha's sister or so she said, they didn't have any info about her, didn't know anything else. The doctor could be an enemy's spy. He had learned you cannot trust almost anyone.

Irina shot him a friendly smile trying to tell him that everything was going to be alright. Steve seeing he didn't have any other option, went outside. He stood in front of the door in case something happened. After ten minutes the doctor came out and allowed him inside.

He found Irina in the same position he had left her. She smiled at him and invited him to sit on the chair beside the bed. He wanted to know what the doctor had said but he didn't want to make it obvious or make it like an interrogation. He tried to be as sly as he could which was not much.

"How are you, then?" asked the Captain. He was sitting down with his back straight in a perfect posture and his hand resting on the armrests of the chair.

Irina laughed a little bit before answering him. She found funny he had tried to be sly about the answers he sought.

"You want to know what the doctor said, don't you?" replied back with a slight smirk.

Steve blushed. He looked like a kid caught doing something wrong. He didn't know what to say without making the situation worse. Irina's intention wasn't making the Captain feel bad. She felt a little guilty so she decided to answer the question and make the situation easier for the embarrassed Steve.

"He said I was fine. I'm going to make a full recovery. It's going to take a week though before I'm released." She said.

"That's great! I'm going to call Natasha to tell her the good news" exclaimed Steve enthusiastically.

"Please Steve don't say anything to her. Let her rest she needs it. Let's keep this news between us until tomorrow. Don't you agree?"

Steve stayed quiet a few moments to think about it. He knew that Natasha would want to know immediately anything related to her sister health. He knew that in the instant she would receive the message with the good news would rush to the hospital. That wouldn't be good for her health as her body was in a desperate need to recover from the stress of those days.

As much as he hated seeing Natasha upset or as much as he feared her anger, he decided to keep quiet until the following day. It wasn't like they weren't going to tell her. He was just going to delay a few hours the message.

"Just until tomorrow" conceded Steve.

He didn't like lying but it wasn't really lying. What Natasha didn't know, wouldn't hurt her.

They ended up in a comfortable silence. When the visitor's time ended, Steve left promising Irina to come back tomorrow with Natasha.

Irina laid on the bed looking at the ceiling and thinking. She didn't know what to do with her life any longer. She was itching to leave the hospital. She could not stand being monotorized and lying all day on a bed. On the other hand she didn't want to leave. She feared leaving. Once she was well enough she didn't know what to do. She didn't know what to make with her life.

Almost all her life had consisted on taking orders without thinking too much. She knew her life's reason: protect Natasha. Now that the threat had disappeared she had to find a new purpose. She hadn't thought about it before. She hadn't considered this scenario. She thought that one day she was going to die on a mission. She had all night to think about it.

Steve went back to the Avengers tower. He took the elevator to the last floor to check on everyone. The lights were switched off so he turned them on just to find Natasha sitting on a sofa waiting for him. She was nursing a glass of vodka.

"Natasha? You should be resting" said Steve worriedly

"I slept enough for today" said Natasha with a sharp tone. It wasn't her intention to be cold with Steve but she had so many things on her head. One of the reasons she had left the hospital was to clear her thoughts.

Steve after many missions with Natasha could perceive her feelings as much as someone could with the Russian spy.

"Too many things on your head?" suggested Steve while he was pouring himself a glass of vodka. Natasha raised her glass to silently ask for another refill. Steve decided to ignore the action. Getting drunk wasn't the answer now. The things that were going though Natasha's head had to clear up. She could not hide from them as hard as they could be.

"All my life has been turned around. I thought that the most important person in my life had deserted me. That I hadn't known anything for years. Who I didn't know if she was dead or alive. Now suddenly appears out of nowhere. It seems joke of bad taste. What if all of this is a plot to weaken us? What if she is just a spy who learned everything about my sis' and is taking her place? There are too many what ifs. I don't know what to think or worse how to feel. Should I feel happy she has appeared, sad she has irrupted into my life once everything was making sense, angry she hadn't told me she was alive?"

Steve just sat down and sipped slowly his drink. He just let her ramble on. He knew she needed. He knew how she felt because in some way he had felt the same when he had been defrosted. Unlike her, he didn't have anyone to ramble on. He still needed to talk it out but he didn't want to appear weak. He was Captain America. He was a referent of the society and among his friends. What would be thought if he appeared struggling with this new life?

Finally Natasha fell asleep. Steve felt uncomfortable taking her to her room because it would imply being inside a lady's room without her explicit permission. He knew Natasha wouldn't care but in some way it felt wrong with him. His old ways were difficult to change

He just covered her up with a blanked and silently left to his floor after, of course, cleaning the two glasses.

The following day Steve devised a strategy to avoid angering Natasha by telling her the news. Natasha didn't hear the alarm clock due to her exhaustion. He went to the hospital as soon as the visitor's hours started. He went directly to Irina's room avoiding the nurses trying to catch his attention. He was dressed with his typical leather jacket, some jeans, a shirt and his baseball cap. He didn't want to draw any attention to himself as difficult as it was.

He arrived to her room and found her already awake. She was dressed in the usual hospital patient grab.

"Good morning, Captain" she saluted him

"Good morning, ma'am" replied Steve

"There is no need for such formalities, just call me Irina" said she quietly

Steve blushed embarrassed by his old ways.

"There is no need to feel embarrassed for not being accustomed to this new century. And by the way, yes, you may call Natasha to tell her"

Steve surprised face made her laugh.

"How did you know?" asked Steve incredously

"I have my ways but I'll give you a clue. You are fairly easy to read and you don't want Natasha angry"

"That easy I am?" wondered Steve "ehh well then I'm going to call her"

She just waved him off. Steve went outside the room. He had to call Natasha twice before she picked up the phone.

"Yes…?" answered Natasha with a sleepy voice with a deadly undertone promising death to whoever had awakened her for nothing.

"Hey Natasha. It's me Steve and…" before Steve could finish the sentence he had been cut off by Natasha.

"What. Do. You. Want?" said with a voice that left no place for jokes.

"I'm here at the hospital" that awakened completely instantaneously Natasha. "I have come here to see how you were faring and seeing you weren't here I decided to call you after the doctor came"

He didn't feel good with not saying the truth but he wanted to avoid Natasha's anger. He didn't want to make her feel bad for not being at the hospital but he had to make the story believable.

"I'm coming. See you there" concluded Natasha before anything else could be said and hung up.

Steve re-entered the room and sat down. Irina just smiled him warmly.

Steve remembered he had brought something for her. He rummaged in his belongings looking for the bag. Irina looked at him curiously. Finally he found the bag he was looking for.


End file.
